A Lot of Miles, a Pocket Museum, and Unexpected Dinner Guest (Day 2)

My Wednesday started out pretty well. I woke up at the LaQuinta property, had a decent breakfast, and got on the road by 7:30 in the morning. I made it all the way to Chattanooga, Tennessee before I needed to fill up the tank. It is amazing that I'm able to get 650 miles on a tank in my Nissan Altima in between fill ups.  

Aside from getting gas, my real first stop of the day was in Mississippi. I needed to find a place for lunch and just after passing into Mississippi I saw a sign for the Simmons-Wright Company General Store in Toomsuba, Mississippi.  I did not really know what they had to offer in the way of food, but I figured I would try it out.  

The building the General Store was in is an old one, from 1884.  Inside there were a bunch of antiques and a small counter to order some food.  

There was a group of older guys hanging out in rocking chairs, eating lunch and talking about a variety of topics.  They provided me with some fun entertainment while eating lunch.  Speaking of lunch, I ordered the fried chicken lunch with sides of coleslaw and potato salad with jalapeno cornbread.  Lunch comes with your choice of water or tea and I opted for the unsweetened iced tea.  Lunch was so good and the crazy part, it was only $8.50 for all that food.  This was a perfect stop along the way.  

After lunch, it was off to Hattiesburg, Mississippi.  I wanted to check out the town (I heard it was neat) and see the Hattiesburg Pocket Museum.  This was cool alley off their main strip that had some miniature art.  

There was also some artwork on the buildings and street.  

The was also a really cool LEGO bridge and LEGO View Master there.  

Here's a view inside the LEGO View Master.  The was a movie playing in there.  

Overall, this was well worth the stop along the way to Pass Christian.  I had a love of fun there.  

While in Hattiesburg, I was talking to my Mom and she said I should see how close my grandfather's best friend's place was to where I was staying the night.  She said if I had no plans, I should hang out with him and take him to dinner.  I had not seen my grandfather's best friend, Mr. Cote, in a while, so I gave him a call.  He was so excited an said I could pick him up at the US Armed Forces Retirement Home in Gulfport, Mississippi.  

Before going to get Mr. Cote for dinner, I went to check in at my hotel.  I stayed at the Hotel Whiskey in Pass Christian, Mississippi which was right off the water.  This is a neat hotel as there is no "front desk" to check into or even staff on site.  You do everything on your phone from a booking and checkin standpoint and they text you a code to get into your room.  That is not for everyone, but it worked for me.  

The room was amazing.  The bed was huge and the room came with a complimentary snacks basket.  How could you not love it?  I totally want to stay there again.  

We ended up going to dinner at Shaggy's Beach Restaurant in Gulfport.  I ended up getting the Mahi Mahi tacos and it was great.  He and I had a great time talking about my old times with my grandfather and how Mr. Cote is doing since moving here 5 months ago.  I'm so glad I stopped.  

After dinner with Mr. Cote and getting an awesome tour on where he lives, I headed back to my lodging at the Hotel Whiskey.  I dropped my stuff off and hit up the Whiskey Bar across the street.  There I got do some drinking with the locals and we had a lot of fun.  They were so nice, they bought my Old Fashioned and the bunch of beers that I had.  This is one of the reasons I love being on the road.  You meet some really amazing and nice people out there.  I hope to pay it forward and buy some drinks for a fellow road warrior on future travels.  

One note I would like to make.  Of all 50 states I have visited, the only state I have never slept in was Mississippi.  So thank you Pass Christian, Mississippi for providing me with a great night of drinking and fun company.